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Finance Bill

I will answer that question genuinely—as, in fact, I answered the same question last Monday. We flagged this tax on the poorest within an hour of the then Chancellor sitting down at the end of his 2007 Budget speech. The amendment in question sought to impose an ongoing restriction on Governments, Chancellors and the Treasury in dealing with income tax changes. We felt that that was not the best way to deal with the problem. This specific issue is in this year's Finance Bill, and we are addressing it by tabling amendments that will deal with the problem before the House today.